The unbelievable story of a rock that may be anything but ordinary
A casual glance at a rock changed everything.
For many years, a remarkable stone lay unnoticed on the ground, passed by countless individuals without a second glance. Recently, however, it caught the eye of Ladislav Oravec from Fiľakovo, an amateur archaeologist and mineralogist from southern Slovakia known for several significant discoveries, including Slovakia’s largest sapphires found in basalt.
“It happened completely by accident. I was waiting for my wife outside the pharmacy in the town of Hajnáčka, and I noticed a larger stone near a garage across the street. To the untrained eye, it might seem like an ordinary rock, but a lightbulb immediately went off in my head," Oravec explained.
Given its shape and the grooves on its surface, combined with the fact that this area lies beneath a defunct castle, he sensed that it was something special. Unable to shake his curiosity, he approached Štefan Szepessy, the pharmacist and owner of Myrtus pharmacy in Hajnáčka, to inquire about the atypical stone.
“It had been lying here for at least 30 years. I have no idea where it came from,” Szepessy shared with the regional daily MY Novohrad. “I noticed that it had a modified shape, but I didn't think to further investigate.”
According to Szepessy, local lore suggests that many houses in the village were constructed from the ruins of the nearby castle, Hajnáčka, leading to speculation that this stone may have originated from there.
“Older residents have mentioned that,” he added.
Potentially rare artefact
As word spread, the stone—estimated to weigh around 50 kilograms—was transported to the Gemersko-Malohontské Museum in Rimavská Sobota on Friday, October 25. It was examined by renowned museum archaeologist Alexander Botoš, who has evaluated numerous rare finds from the Hajnáčka area.
Botoš tentatively identified the stone as a potentially rare artefact, the likes of which have not been documented in the museum in such a condition and size. However, he noted that further professional research is necessary to substantiate these initial observations.
“It’s an architectural feature, likely a window frame,” Botoš stated, indicating that the object likely originates from a historical structure, possibly even the now-defunct Hajnáčka Castle, with which he is well acquainted. In 2014, he conducted research on the castle cellar, uncovering ceramic fragments dating from the 16th to 18th centuries, which helped date the cellar’s construction.
Oravec, who drew national attention last year with his unique discovery of a 3.6-million-year-old toe bone belonging to a tapir, remains hopeful about the potential significance of this latest find.
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